The Wish
by Rayne-Shadow Goddess
Summary: That crazy Wu princess is about to change people's lives forever! After a simple, desperate wish, Sun Shang Xiang has the whole kingdom going crazy! A tale of love and insanity!Chapt. 6 up!
1. Chapter 1

**_Okay, so I'm bored. I'm gonna be writing a Dynasty Warrior fic now. It's one in a long list I plan on starting. I'm gunna try to doa storyfor everyone. Um, yes, I know how sappy this one sounds right now, but it'll get funny later. Bear with me, here, it's just an intro..._**

**The Wish**

**Prologue: To Know How it Feels**

The night was cool and crisp, the world was peacefully asleep. The moon was full, hanging low like a vibrantly glowing orb. The stars twinkled happily, winking at one another in the sky. Everything was still. Everything was calm. Everything—

-wasn't the way it was supposed to be. _'Why is it so hard to sleep on such a perfect night!'_ It was quiet (for once!) in the castle, and it was still impossible to sleep. In fact, it was harder than normal. It was horrific.

The princess was laying on her stomach on top of the layers of blankets and throw pillows, propping up her head with one hand and idly swinging the other back and forth over the edge. Her eyes were half closed, glowing brightly in the blue light from outside. The princess was restless, hating herself for not sleeping and occasionally muttering something about how boring it was. Basically, there was something wrong, and she couldn't find out what it was.

_'What on Earth is the matter with me! What could possibly be nagging at my mind now?'_ Her thoughts were exasperated. She rolled over onto her back, glaring at the high ceiling as if she'd find the answers. A list of possible problems ran through her head. She rejected each one, frowning as the list grew.

_'Maybe it's the war…' _Impossible: that was like saying her problem was fishing if she were someone who sold sea bass. She lived for the moment when a battle really started. It was who she was… a warrior.

_'Maybe someone plans to capture me?' _This, also, would never happen. She may have been a princess, but there were far more valuable woman in her kingdom. They weren't royalty, but they were beautiful. _'And I'm…' _She sighed. She was the tom-boy girl, the fiery young ruler with a knack for fighting. _'…I'm a freak… '_

Moving on. She couldn't afford to be moping _and_ being completely bewildered by her own mind. _'My brother's birthday is soon, maybe two more weeks…'_ She smiled at that. No, her brother's party was a good thing. He was wild and fun, and everyone could use a break right now. _'Well, there goes_ _that idea. Father's right, I_ _am losing my mind!' _

For a moment she considered there was some terrifying monster in her room. After all, that's what it felt like. There was so much tension that the more she thought about it, the more she was sure something was going to jump out at her. Feeling childish fright creep up her spine, she rolled off her bed and landed cat-like on the floor. She inspected under the mattress. Nothing. She stood up and stretched, her mind screaming at her that she was an idiot.

For a moment she just stood there, trying to find something to do. _'It's pretty late, I don't think I'll find much…'_ A slight shiver moved through her. She instinctively spun around and shot her fist out. She was certain now, she'd lost her mind. She scowled, grabbed her blanket and wrapped it around her. She crossed to the window, feeling like she was being forced to wear a dress. You know, the big, poofy ones with lots of layers of fabric? The idea made her steps more graceful and elegant. She re-did it so it hung around her shoulders like a cloak. Her mind again repeated the idea that she was crazy.

_'What must it be like, to look out your window and see someone waiting for you? To know how it feels to be loved must be a great feeling indeed…'_ The princess put her hand on the glass. It was cold, but she didn't pull back. Her green eyes drifted to the ground outside. No one was there to wait for her. No one ever would be.

Her hand closed into a fist, and she punched the window angrily. She turned her back to it, tears burning her eyes. _'Is that what's wrong? Do I want to be in love?'_ She had never been romantic. The idea seemed absolutely fantastic, absolutely absurd. Yet, the thought had cleared her mind, she didn't feel foggy anymore. Was that the solution, to find someone for her?

Suddenly very tired, she collapsed on the cushioned bench seat next to the window. Tears slid down her cheeks. She hugged a red throw pillow to her chest, crying openly. She hadn't cried in such a long time… She glanced at the window again, her heart defeated. "I wish that I could find someone… I only want to know how it feels to be desired…" she whispered. She burrowed down into her blankets, covered her head, and cried herself to sleep.

A star darted through the night sky, falling faster than seemed possible. Just as Sun Shang Xiang finished her sentence it flew by. The God's smiled down at the Wu Princess's request, touched by the sincerity. Perhaps it was time for her to receive a gift… They granted her wish.

_**Okay, Here's where you lovely readers come in! I'm gunna hold a vote here to see who you guys want her to end up with. Try to keep it limited to Wu people (5th game included) or someone you genuinely think she'd make a good couple with. Keep in mind that I may not go with what you say, but I'll at least try to put something like what you said in it. Please help! And to those who do, many thanx!**_

**_Rayne Shadow Goddess_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_O.K. So, this is where the story really starts. I hope you all lke it. Also, if you want to suggest a couple, by all means, still do. It's interesting to hear what you guys think! -_**

**The Wish**

**Chapter 1: Something Strange in Wu Castle**

It had come as quite a shock to Mei Lin when Sun Shang Xiang was not in her bed the next morning. Sun Ce had sent her to go and bring his sister down for breakfast, but if the Princess wasn't here either, where was she? Lin cursed her job for the millionth time as she turned to leave the room. 'I swear, this royal family is a royal pain in the--' She found herself stopping and staring at a lump of blankets on the window seat. 'What a strange woman,' she thought, sighing, and made her way toward the dozing Princess. She could already tell today was going to be a long day.

* * *

_"Just Chose a road already, will ya'!"_ _Sun Ce called out in aggravation. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest impatiently._

_"I hate to admit it, little sister, but Ce's right. You've been out here for hours," Sun Quan said calmly. Sun Ce glared at his brother for a moment then looked away, irritated. Sun Quan's face showed no emotion at all._

_Sun Shang Xiang glanced solemnly from path to path. She wanted to choose so badly. Her brothers were right, this was taking forever. The sun shone on her and a slight breeze moved her short, auburn hair, but she hardly noticed. She gripped her chakrams tightly and turned to her father. "Which path should I take?"_

_Sun Jian smiled at her. "Whichever will make you happy, my dear."_

_Shang Xiang frowned in confusion. "How do I know which one that is?" Sun Jian opened his mouth to say something, but instead, grabbed her shoulders and shook her violently. Shang Xiang dropped her chakrams, green eyes wide with shock, and tried to push him off. _At that moment, her eyes shot open and her dream was over.

* * *

"Lady Sun, wake up…" Mei Lin said softly. She got no response. Rolling her eyes, she tried again. "Come on, please." Once again she was rewarded a heaping pile of nothing. Feeling like her efforts were going absolutely nowhere, Lin grabbed Sun Shang Xiang's shoulders and shook her. "WAKE UP!" 

The Princess sat up so quickly that Lin actually yelped and jumped back in surprise. Sun Shang Xiang's eyes darted around the room before finally landing on the frightened brown-haired girl in servant garb. With a sigh of annoyance she fell back onto a pile of pillows and covered her head with the silk sheets.

"Lady Sun, you're needed at breakfast," Mei Lin said cautiously, slowly recovering from shock. Shang Xiang burrowed deeper into the blankets.

"They can eat without me, and they know it."

"The cooks won't prepare the food until they receive word that you'll be attending," Lin pressed, slowly edging back toward the Wu Princess.

Shang Xiang uncovered only her eyes and glared at her young servant. "You only say that because you want me to come down." Mei Lin's eyes widened, then instantly narrowed into a glare as well. To anyone else in the room, this interaction would look like some bizarre staring contest.

"Why would I be dishonest toward a member of the Royal Family? The men boycotted the food, well, actually, they told the chiefs that if they didn't wait for you it would be their heads. Your brother became terribly impatient and sent me to 'go wake his stupid, lazy sister up.'" Mei Lin's rant ended with a voice that was almost shouting. Sun Shang Xiang felt surprised and confused, and her face wore an expression to match.

"But—that makes no sense…" she babbled quietly. " Exactly which men did this?"

Mei Lin's youthful face turned thoughtful as she began to list the names. "Let's see, there were the boys: Lu Xun and Ling Tong. Gan Ning wasn't down there…" he said, still trying to think.

"Typical," Shang Xiang interrupted, thinking of how many breakfasts that lazy oaf had missed.

"Taishi Ci and Lu Meng also went along with it. Your family, aside from Lord Sun Ce, that is, and Zhou Yu all agreed it was the proper thing to do," Lin finished, pulling at the ends of her ponytail to make it tighter.

Sun Shang Xiang stared at he servant skeptically. "No offense Mei Lin, but that story sounds completely made up. The men you named love breakfast, especially Meng and Tong. I know these things as fact." Lin opened her mouth to protest, but Shang Xiang cut her off. "I'm very tired, Mei Lin. Tell them to eat without me, like we always do to Ning, and that I won't mind." With that, she turned her head and closed her eyes. She heard Mei Lin sigh and leave the room, muttering something about how she should have taken the job in Shu instead. A grin crossed the young warriors face as she drifted back into sleep.

Ten minutes later, she awoke with a start to a loud crash of her door bursting open. Shang Xiang jumped a good foot into the air, pulling her knees to her chest. She focused her vision on the person in front of her, trying to identify a threat. What she saw was Mei Lin, body tense with rage, stomping toward her.

"Your brother sends this message," she growled, sounding angry and out of breath. "' DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE WITH MY TONFAS AND BEAT HER SORRY SELF INTO A PULP!' He says he's hungry…" she paused to catch her breath, "hates the morning, and wants you down there so he can just eat and go back to sleep for a while."

Sun Shang Xiang sighed, defeated. "Fine, fine. I'll be down soon…" Mei Lin smiled, then collapsed onto the floor.

"I hope you don't mind if I pass out on your floor for a moment before going back down to give them the word."

"Oh, by all means, Lin," Shang Xiang replied, tossing her a pillow as she walked sleepily to her vanity. She idly pulled a comb through her hair, giving herself a momentary look of disgust. 'I don't believe it's possible to find a less feminine woman…' she thought sadly. After she was satisfies with the way her short hair fell, she slipped out of her night clothes and into a red, silk, sleeveless top and her favorite pink and red skirt. She wore a pair of red shorts underneath out of habit. After yanking on her fighting boots, she stumbled out of her room, followed by Mei Lin.

"I'll let them know you're on your way," she said silently.

"Wait! Be sure to tell my brother that laziness is something we both share."

Mei Lin smiled slightly, "I'll be sure to give him the message." Her silver eyes gleamed as she turned and jogged toward the stairs, ponytail swinging with each step. 'She's really not so bad,' Sun Shang Xiang thought before heading toward the steps herself.

Just as she took the first step, she felt something strong snaking around her stomach and pulling her feet back up. She was about to scream until she felt a hand rubbing her head and heard laughing from behind her. There was another sound as well; the sound of bells…

"Ning, let go of me! NING! You tremendous idiot, let go of me now!" Shang Xiang cried, punching his arm furiously.

"As you say, Princess!" Gan Ning said. (A little too brightly for Shang Xiang to feel comfortable, might I add.) He let go of her abruptly, still chuckling as her feet hit the floor.

"Must you always be such a jerk?" she asked, fuming. The look I her emerald eyes said murder, but deep inside there was happiness. 'Finally, some normalcy today…'

Gan Ning pretended to be offended. "Come on Princess, there's no need to over-react. It was a simple gesture of friendship. I mean, it's not like you spent hours on your hair or anything. Imagine if you were Da or Xiao and I did that. Can you even picture the enormous tantrum either one of them would throw?"

Sun Shang Xiang couldn't help it. A smile slowly crept and grew on her face. It was true after all; once you messed with a Qiao's hair, you messed with their dignity. This behavior was always punishable by malicious girl-style sabotage. She knew herself, for she had seen it many times.

Ning smiled back at her for a moment before a slightly confused look crossed his face. "Hold on, why did you freak out anyways?"

Shang Xiang stared at the floor, ashamed. "I'm sorry… It's been a, um, peculiar morning."

"Fear not, for Ning will listen, and solve your every problem."

She glared at him, irritated by his stupidity. "You can't even solve your own problems…" He glared at her for a moment, then sat on the banister next to her.

"Well, I'll listen at least. If something strange enough happened to be called peculiar in _this _castle, it's gotta be good. If it isn't, I can't promise I won't laugh at you."

"Gee, that's comforting…" Shang Xiang said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Do you even want to hear the story, or would you rather be pushed of that banister?"

Gan Ning waved his hands defensively. "All right… I'll stop… Just get on with it then…"

She half smiled before telling her tale. "I knew you'd see it my way… So, this morning, Mei Lin storms into my room and tells me that I have to go down to breakfast-"

"Breakfast already started? Damn… when I saw you, I thought I was gonna make it…" Ning interrupted.

"Well, actually, breakfast hasn't started yet, Ning, so you'll be able to eat."

"I'm guessing that's when things got strange," he stated blankly.

"Yes, that would be it," Sun Shang Xiang murmured. "That and the fact that breakfast was postponed by my family and four hungry men."

Gan Ning looked noticeably more interested. "Which men did this? Like, Lu Meng or something?" The later question was asked sarcastically. He was shocked when she only nodded, staring at the floor.

"Along with Xun, Ci, and, your very _best _friend, Ling Tong." Shang Xiang poked Gan Ning's chest on the word best. He scowled momentarily, then hopped off the banister with an evil smile on his face.

"Better not keep them waiting, right, Princess?"

Shang Xiang felt a quiver of unease run up her spine. "Why are you staring at me like that?" He took one step closer to her. "Ning?" Without warning, he charged forward, grabbing her by the waist and slinging her over his shoulders. "NING!" she shouted, kicking and screaming as he began to descend the stairs. "NING, STOP!"

* * *

"You said she'd be down soon, so where is she?" Sun Ce asked for the twelfth time. Mei Lin shrugged from the kitchen doorway, restraining the very strong urge to punch him in the face. "I'm hungry"… he whined, pouting slightly. 

Sun Quan rolled his eyes, also trying hard not to inflict some act of violence upon him. Da Qiao softly elbowed her husband in the gut. "Oh, come on darling. She'll be down soon, and until then, just shut up about it."

"How do you know?" he asked pointedly.

"Call it a woman's intuition…" she said, smiling. Sun Ce gave her a questioning look, but didn't push it.

At that moment a scream drifted though the entry door. Sun Jian chuckled. "Son, I don't think you'll have to wait much longer…"

"Are you certain that's Shang Xiang?" Zhou Yu asked, clearly troubled by the shouts.

"….LET GO…ME…IDIOT!" were the only words that could be understood. It was definitely a girl screaming, and apparently an angry one.

Xiao Qiao giggled. "Yup! That's her, all right."

Sun Jian chuckled to himself, Sun Ce looked relieved and pleased, and Sun Quan just rolled his eyes again, thinking, 'My siblings are total imbeciles.'

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity of pounding on Gan Ning's back, he finally set her down at the end of the staircase. 

"My back's gonna have bruises, you know…" he complained, rubbing a sore spot.

"Good! I hope you get scars too!"

"Princess, people don't get scars from being punched…"

Fed up, Sun Shang Xiang stomped on the ex-pirates foot and walked huffily toward the dining hall.

"Hey, why is your nick-name Sunny if you're such a violent person? Sun shine is supposed to be nice, you know…"

"Ning, I mean it, shut your mouth!"

"Come now, that's no way to treat your friends…"

Shang Xiang whipped around, clenching fists at her side. "Who says you're my friend?" she asked, only half joking.

"Why, I do, of course! Besides, you know you like me…"

"No, Ning, I can't stand you…"

"But you still like me, admit it."

She sighed, closing her eyes and hating how right he was. "Yes, I like you… geez; I can never stay mad at you for more than ten minutes…"

Gan Ning beamed at her just as they reached the door. "That's because I'm Gan Ning of the Bells, and no one can resist my renegade charm."

She openly laughed at him. "Yeah…right." With that, Ning pushed open the door, and they stepped into a seemingly new world.

"FINALLY" Sun Ce shouted the second he saw his sister and Gan Ning in the doorway. Mei Lin had already slipped into the kitchen to tell the chiefs to begin cooking. Sun Shang Xiang began to make her way to her seat, feeling suddenly embarrassed. She was about to pass Lu Xun when he turned around and smiled at her.

"Good morning, Lady Sun," he said, beaming. The way his hat fell and the way he looked up at her made him almost seem childish. (And, also, quite adorable!)

"Erm… good morning to you to…" She smiled back at him, which made his grin wider. She began walking toward her seat again, filled with confusion. Da Qiao gave her a confused look, while Xiao Qiao raised her eyebrows and gave a thumbs-up. Shang Xiang felt bewildered. What on Earth were they implying?

When the food was brought out, Shang Xiang barely touched hers. She kept feeling people staring at her. The first time she checked, it as just Ning making some stupid face at her. The next few times she looked up she either saw Lu Meng staring, Taishi Chi trying _not_ to stare, or Ling Tong with a goofy look on his face. Sometimes she swore she saw him drooling. The thing that happened most, though, was seeing Lu Xun, still smiling, and looking straight into her eyes.

'What's happening today?' she thought to herself, unaware that this new attention was far from temporary.

**_Hmm... so what else will happen in Princess Sun Shang Xiang's day? I know, not all the couples were in there. I'll get around to it! (Well, for the most part.)_**

**_Here are tha couple votes thus far: (or at least how I see them...)_**

**_Gan Ning:3... and 1/2 _**

**_Lu Xun:1_**

**_Ling Tong:2_**

**_Taichi Ci:1_**

**_Lu Meng:1_**

**_Liu Bei:4...and 1/2_**

**_Cao Cao:1_**

**_Miao Cai: Thanx! Yeah, no one likes to be alone, right? Thus, my story... Pleaed to find you think it's sweet._**

**_Crimson: I'm glad you see potential! I'm also glad that you're not picky, so if I didn't go with your choice, I wouldn't get shot or somethin...o.O_**

**_Wouldn't You Like to Know XD: Yes, I would like to know... j/k. Your comment made me smile! Yay multiple personalities! I'm thankful that you, too, are not picky._**

**_french girl in England: Sure, I'll look for your story! You know, I wasn't really expecting anyone to suggest that, although, now that I think about it, that would be good story-like conflict... We'll see what happens..._**

**_sonicwind123: I have promise? YAY! You also had some pretty unique ideas, which make me think quite a bit. Like I said, we'll just have to see where this leads..._**

**_deadgirl: I'm glad you like it! except, you probably don't like this chapter so much, seeing as how Gan Ning is everywhere... (sorry -')_**

**_:p: ah, yes, a Liu Bei basher... I welcome you with open arms... Thanx for the review!_**

**_hurleysuki: I know, I feel it too... I think everyone has at least once. Anyway, I appreciate the suggestions! _**

**_Heanen Lee: Wow... Thanx for saying my story's great! I wasn't sure it was going too well..._**

****

**_Well, I'll try to get everyone's couple in somewhere, and I'll try to make you all proud!_**

**_Rayne-ShadowGoddess_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_I'm baaacckkk! Polls still open for those who haven't voted. This chap. is gunna be kinda' short. Sorry..._**

**The Wish**

**Chapter 2: Talk About the Wrong Side of the Bed…**

Sun Shang Xiang was completely mortified. She focused as hard as she could on her plate, trying as hard as she could not to look up. She was so intent on her staring that she didn't notice that the room was now empty of men. She also didn't notice that the Qiao sisters were right behind her until Xiao squeezed on her shoulders. Shang Xiang was caught so off guard that she screamed, snapping her head up so fast she nearly fell out of her chair. When she saw her two sister-in-laws she slumped with relief.

"You okay, Sunny?" Xiao asked. Hr pixie face was formed into a mask of concern.

"I'm fine, Xiao. I'm sorry, if I worried you."

"No need to apologize, we're just concerned, is all," Da said sitting on the edge of the table near where Sun Shang Xiang sat.

"Yeah," Xiao added, "You're not acting like your normal self."

"You're not going to get on my case about how I'm all cranky are you? I've already been told today that Sunny isn't a suitable nick-name for me," Shang Xiang explained when Xiao's face grew confused.

"Actually, we didn't want to talk to you about your mood at all," Da said, a slight smirk growing on her face.

"Wait, who said that?" Xiao asked at the same time, still clearly confused.

Shang Xiang glanced suspiciously at the older girl before slowly beginning to speak. "Gan Ning did… What are you getting at, Da?"

"Meanie…" Xiao muttered to herself, which awarded her with a kick to the shin from her sister. She frowned and glared, sticking her tongue out. Shang Xiang probably would have smiled or laughed if she weren't so completely lost.

"That'll teach you to stay on topic," Da Qiao stated matter-of-factly. "A lady is always on topic."

Xiao Qiao kicked her sister right back. "You're not on topic now!" she protested.

"WHAT IS THE TOPIC!" Shang Xiang shouted, frustrated to the point of near insanity. Both Qiaos stared at her wide eyed, taken aback by their friend's sudden outburst. It was Da who regained her composer first.

"We couldn't help but notice that you were getting a little extra attention today…" she said, smirking again.

"Yeah, I mean, what's going on between you and Lu Xun, hmm?" Xiao asked.

Shang Xiang's eyes widened with shock, her cheeks reddened, the rest of her face paled. Her brows where knitted with confusion. She couldn't have looked more embarrassed if she tried. "Wh—what? Nothing! Gods above, where did you get that idea?"

"You seriously think we didn't notice how he made a special point of greeting you?" Da asked. She stifled a giggle, adding to Shang Xiang's flurry of emotions. They were enjoying this! Her best friends, her sisters, were laughing at her obvious misery.

"The two of you look so cute together!" Xiao added, beaming. "Just think, now the three of us can do things together with our husbands!"

"HUSBANDS? WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT HUSBANDS?" Shang Xiang yelled, wishing the roof would cave in on top of her head.

"Relax, Sunny, we're just trying to make you feel less awkward about courting someone." Da Qiao said comfortingly, putting her hand on her sister-in-law's shoulder. 'This must be hell,' Shang Xiang thought. 'I'm stuck living in hell…'

"Yeah, and Lu Xun is definitely not a bad choice," Xiao said giggling.

"Xiao Qiao!" Da exclaimed.

"What? I'm just saying that he's not bad looking. I'm not saying I'm going to leave my precious Zhou Yu or anything. No way! He's the greatest! Besides, Sunny likes Xun."

"I DO NOT!" Shang Xiang screamed, pulling away from Da's "reassuring" touch. "DID THE TWO OF YOU COMPLETELY MISS THE CONFUSED LOOK ON MY FACE?"

"I thought you were acting…" Xiao whispered.

"Why would I do that?" she challenged.

"Because your whole family and all the high ranking officers were there…?"

Shang Xiang stared doubtfully at the younger Qiao for a moment before pushing her chair away from the table and standing. "Look, I'm sorry for snapping at you guys, it's just that… I really don't like Xun that way, and I know for a fact that I'm 'too manly' for anyone to possibly like me that way. Also, I'm very tired, and I don't feel much like talking. So, I'm going to go back to bed. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Sure!" Xiao said happily.

"Of course," Da replied.

The three girls shared a group hug before Shang Xiang dragged her feet out of the Dining corridor. Once she left, both sisters burst out laughing. They laughed for the next five minutes, clenching their sides, and unable to stop. Sun Shang Xiang was definitely keeping a secret, and they were one step closer to finding it out…

* * *

Sun Shang Xiang reached for the knob on her door, feeling thoroughly annoyed. Where on Earth did those Qiao sisters get off? She pushed the door open, shaking her head in disbelief. Lu Xun? They had to be joking…

She was about to walk into her room when she heard someone behind her. She turned her head and came face to face with Ling Tong. She yelped in surprise, staggering backward. Ling Tong grinned at her and raised one eyebrow.

"Did I scare you?"

"I thought you were going to be one of those pesky sisters…" Shang Xiang admitted, relieved. "Trust me, right now, you're lucky you're not."

"What did they do? Try to style your hair again?" he asked sarcastically.

"Don't make fun of me. That was not a pleasant experience."

"I don't see what's so bad about it…" he said, ignoring Shang Xiang's obvious distaste for anything girly.

"You don't see what's so bad about THIS?" she asked, yanking on Ling Tong's ponytail. He grunted in pain and glared at the smiling Princess in front of him.

"You're lucky you're royalty… girl royalty," he added, just to anger her.

"You're lucky I'm tired…" she threatened.

"Too tired to go spar with me?" he asked, flashing her puppy dog eyes.

"Too tired to even put up with you," she said, sticking her tongue out.

"Well, I never!" Ling Tong said in fake disgust. "Some other time then."

"Just don't expect to win…" she said, smiling.

"It's a date then, " he said, then turned and walked away.

Shang Xiang stood in her doorway, stunned. "It's a what?" But by the time that she was able to speak, he was already gone.

Feeling the most weirded out she had ever been in her life, she walked into her room and flopped down on her bed. "Could things be any weirder?" She reached for her favorite pillow, then realized it was on her window seat. Groaning, she walked over to pick it up.

The second she entered the frame of the window, she heard someone shout, "There she is!" followed by a wave of cheers. She looked outside her window to see a crowd of at least a hundred peasant men standing there, waving signs that said things like "I love you!" and "Sun Shang Xiang is amazing!"

Shang Xiang was at a total loss for words. Paralyzed with shock, she just stood there, gaping at the whistling men. I t took her ten whole minutes to really react. She pulled the curtains closed, ran to her bed, buried her head in a pillow, and screamed until she was out of breath.

**_Votes:_**

**_Gan Ning:8_**

**_Lu Xun:4_**

**_Ling Tong:5_**

**_Taishi Ci:1_**

**_Lu Meng:1_**

**_Liu Bei:5_**

**_Cao Cao: ...1..._**

**_sonicwind123:_** **_I added her in there for the sole purpose of I was bored. Also, I kinda liked the idea. Yeah, I was looking at their ages, too. It's amazing the how alot of the couple ideas out there have these huge age gaps..._**

**_Justinian 14: Thanks! That would be my personal choice, anyways, along with a few others. (for the readers' sakes...)_**

**_hurleysuki: Yeah, I'd definately want to be elsewhere. Just think of how she feels now... she has her own stalker-ish fanclub! As for the whole Cao Cao thing, that's basically how I reacted, too._**

**_Dry Tortugas: I'm glad you like it! Since you'll be reading mine, I'll be reading yours!_**

**_sirval: Oh, don't worry... I'm going to milk this multiple crush thing until I run completely out of ideas!_**

**_Erika Lania Ash: Thanks for the vote!_**

**_dynasty warriors fan: Thank you! I love it when people leave a suggestion, but aren't picky. That way, I don't feel like I have to use that couple or die..._**

**_Windy: I always thought he was cute! Glad you like it! Thanks for voting!_**

**_elfprincess:Pleased to hear you like it! I was a little afraid I almost over-reacted her emotions, so I'm glad you think I did it well. I agree, by the way, Gan Ning is awesome. Or maybe that's just my pirate obsession talking..._**

**_Will try to update soon!_**

**_Rayne-Shadow Goddess_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Hey guys. I'm so sorry it took so long. New computer, lot's of homework. Ya know, the basics. Well, here it is (finally), your update. Enjoy!_**

**The Wish**

**Chapter 3: Who's the Fairest of Them All?**

"Are they gone yet?"

Mei Lynn sighed and glanced out the window. "Do you mean completely?" Sun Shang Xiang's eyes absently scanned the pages of the book in front of her.

"That's a no, then?" she asked, exasperated.

"Well…yes. There are fewer of them, though."

Shang Xiang slammed her book shut and grunted. She tossed it across the room and watched it thud against the wall. "How am I supposed to study with hoards of men watching my room from below?"

"No offense, Lady Sun," Mei Lynn replied, "but you weren't studying anyway."

"Maybe not… but I can't even pretend to learn knowing that there are…men waiting for me to walk past my window!" She threw another book across the room. Mei Lynn smiled in reaction to the princess's panic attack. All she had done was bring Shang Xiang's materials so she would have a proper education, and she'd ended up in the middle of the girl's meltdown instead.

"Why is it that you think that Xiao Qiao is so scatter brained?" Mei Lynn questioned. "There are men outside her window all the time."

Shang Xiang frowned. "No there aren't. Zhou Yu would kill them."

"Figuratively, there are."

"Figuarative men, or a figurative window?"

"The men."

"What about when she's outside?"

"Then the window is figurative too."

"That makes no sense."

"Neither does throwing books when your problem is men."

"Wanna bet?"

"Not particularly."

Sun Shang Xiang threw another book. This one banged against the window loudly. A sudden idea sparked in Mei Lynn's mind. She looked around the room until she found a set of valuable dishware on an old oak armoire. She strode over and picked up the porcelain dishes.

"What are you doing?" Shang Xiang asked.

"My version of throwing books to get rid of men," Mei Lynn replied, not answering the question clearly. She crossed to the window and opened it. The men below cheered until they realized that the girl leaning over the ledge wasn't the princess. She gave them a sweet grin, firmly gripping a plate in her right hand. She flung it out the window, hitting one of the nearer bystanders in the shin.

"HEY!" Sun Shang Xiang shouted, tensing her position. The next thing out the window was a teacup. "STOP THAT! MEI LYNN!" Two more objects, a saucer and a sugar bowl, went flying through the air. Shang Xiang didn't understand what was going on until she realized people were shouting. 'She's trying to get rid of them…' She threw the last of the dishware out, each with skilled aim at the crowd, and finally turned from the window, satisfied.

The princess stood and approached the window, which, to her disbelief, held only a view of retreating figures. "They—they're gone?" she breathed, astounded. Mei Lynn just grinned at her, enjoying Shang Xiang's confusion.

"Yes, they're gone. Now you are free to do as you wish. And if anyone asks about the dishes, Lord Ce did it."

Shang Xiang grinned back at her, feeling more relieved than she ever had in her life, and left the room. She was in the mood for a good fight…

* * *

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao were walking through the courtyard, trying to plan a dance for Sun Ce's upcoming birthday celebration. Xiao suggested twirling, and then spun so much she fell to the ground. Da Stared at her blankly. There was no way she would allow herself to look like a fool on stage. Xiao just beamed at her before jumping back onto her feet. 

"Hey sis, while we're out here, we should go watch the men spar!" the younger sister suggested, clasping her hands together. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"No, Xaio…" Da said, shaking her head. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

Xiao blushed slightly, embarrassed. "I promise I won't run up and try to hug Zhou Yu when he's sparring with Ning, Ce, or Gai. I learned my lesson about that! You wouldn't think they'd hit so hard in a practice fi—"

The older sister sighed and cut her off. " Yet you still try to hug him if it's Tong, Xun, or Quan. How many times have you recklessly jumped in front of their blows?"

Xiao thought for a moment. "A lot… but they're wimps! I'm not scared of them!" Da opened her mouth to say 'no' again, but her sister quickened her speech so she couldn't intervene. "I promise I won't interrupt! Oh, please, Da, pppplllllllleeeeeeeaaaaaasssssseee can we go?"

"Xiao, I—"

"Please! Just one match?"

Da Qiao rolled her eyes. "Fine, but just one match…" Xiao giggled and pulled her sister into a tight hug. "Xiao…oxygen…now…"

Xiao let go of her sister, apologizing quickly, then briskly changing her mood. "Let's just hope that our presence isn't too distracting!" she exclaimed as her and Da headed for the sparring ring.

"Not all men shut down when a woman comes into sight, you know," Da protested, although, the men of Wu were typically the type that did just that. Sure enough, when they arrived, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared—

-for nearly half a second. "It's only the Qiao sisters!" Ling Tong called out in disappointment. There was a small chorus of sighs and moans and confused waves form their husbands before everyone went back to their business. The sisters stared with identical looks of bewilderment. Even Da Qiao's feminine pride couldn't make her stop gaping. Almost oblivious she was speaking, she uttered three simple words:

"What the hell?"

* * *

How long had she been standing in front of the training grounds? Maybe five seconds? Yes, it had only been five seconds, and now Sun Shang Xiang found herself between Ling Tong and Lu Xun. Both of them were there so quickly. They each grasped one of her arms tightly. 

"Lady Sun, would you spar with me, please? I would _love_ to practice fighting with you!" Lu Xun begged. He smiled encouragingly at her.

"Get lost Xun!" Tong shouted, pushing Lu Xun away. He also smiled as he began to drag Shang Xiang behind him. "She already promised she'd spar with me!"

"I didn't see that…" Lu Meng argued from where he sat under a nearby peach tree. "Did you see that, Taishi Ci?" he asked, looking at the man sitting next to him.

"No, I don't believe I did," Ci said. Both of them were grinning too. 'What is _wrong_ with these people?' Shnag Xiang thought to herself as Tong continued toward the ring, ignoring the other's comments.

Sun Shang Xiang didn't like this feeling at all. All of the men (save her two brothers, who were laughing at her confusion,) she'd seen had been giving her weird looks today. She glanced around to see if everyone was smiling. The Qiao sisters weren't; they looked as shocked as she did. Zhou Tai didn't ever look happy, so that didn't help her any. Was anyone else out here not beaming like the Cheshire cat? Her dad was chuckling, Zhou Yu half-smiled, Huang Gai smirked, but no matter where she looked, she saw some form of grin tugging at the corners of everyone's mouth—

-until she looked at Gan Ning, who was glaring daggers at Ling Tong. She felt her heart skip a beat as her mind wandered to find why he was staring like that. Was it just that he didn't like Ling Tong or…?

'…or is he jealous that I'm going with him?' Without warning, Shang Xiang pulled her arm away and ran to the ring on her own. It was time she beat her confusion away, and Ling Tong made a pretty good sparring partner…

**_Votes:_**

**_Gan Ning: 9_**

**_Ling Tong: 9_**

**_Liu Bei: 6_**

**_Lu Xun: 5_**

**_Taish Ci: 1_**

**_Lu Meng: 1_**

**_Cao Cao: 1_**

**_OOOOO! We have a tie! Looks like we need more voters to break that! And for all of you who are keeping it Wu, you don't have to, it just works better. The other kingdoms are bound to show up eventually, so feel free to pick whoever._**

**_Sonic Wind123: Thank you! Yes, it does work better with Wu votes, but I'll try to put some LB/SSX in there because that obviously has alot of fans._**

**_celstine: Well, it took a while, but it has been continued! I'm glad you like it!_**

**_hurleysuki: You and me both. All things considered, she's actually handling this whole stalker thing pretty well. It's Mei Lynn they should be afraid of..._**

**_Cenasgirl456: lol, Very animated review! I must say, I'm glad you like my story. It was a random idea caused by boredum that ended up leading to this. Lu Xun is adorable, I agree, and Gan Ning is hot. I'm just like that, though. Thanx!_**

**_Juanitaaaaaaa: Thanx fer the vote! Yes, Gan Ning has alot, but now so does Ling Tong. Now the fight for Sun Shang Xiang's heart is that much harder!_**

**_TamPhuoc: I try... ;_**

**_DayDreaming4ever: Sorry about the lack of a.s.a.p. in my update. Thanks for voting. Now things should get interesting... plotting_**

**_french girl in England: That's ok, lol. I was thinking of doing that (or something similar) anyway, so don't worry. Something randomly weird and creepy is bound to happen._**

**_E.L.Ash: I also apologize to you for how long this took. Thanx for telling your friend about my story, too! I'm happy that you both like it!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Oh my God, I'm so sorry guys! Geez-us, I've been gone for a whole year! I'm really sorry, guys, but if you're still out there, I'm updating now! You see, my family replaced my computer with one that had NO typing program... I've been stuch without one until... about now. Anyways, the plot thickens now! Here's one more for anyone still interested!_**

**The Wish**

**Chapter 4: Lost Their Minds**

...Or not.

In Shang Xiang's opinion, the match was over before it even started. There had been about twenty seconds between the start and the end of this particular fight, in fact. Both she and Tong had set there stances, Shang Xiang provided one swift kick to the back of his knee, and that was it. He was down, and she was announced the winner when he refused to get up. There had been no blocking, no dodging, and no counter attack. Noting at all.

The princess stared at her opponent with a cross between anger and utter confusion in her green eyes. He just stared up at her with an endearing smile. What was he thinking? Shang Xiang held out her hand to pull him back to his feet, but couldn't prevent her mind's torment from escaping her lips." Ling Tong, what on Earth was that?"

Tong's smile faltered and gave way to worry. "You won... Why aren't you happy?"

Was he being serious? Shang Xiang paused for a moment and tried to think of the right words to express just why she wasn't happy, but didn't get much farther than that. Her brain was about to explode from all of the male weirdness that was occurring lately. "Are you being serious?"

She took the continuance of the worried expression as a yes. " You didn't even try to fight me!" she shouted in disgust. She had lost all interest in helping him up. Feeling more rage than she had felt in quite some time, the princess turned and prepared to storm away. Much to her annoyance, her storming was impeded by Tong grabbing her hand from his place on the ground.

"I couldn't try to fight you," he said, as if he was trying to explain simple logic to a child. " What if I had hurt you?"

'What if you had what? WHAT IF YOU HAD WHAT?!?' her mind was screaming. She narrowed her eyes and stared at him as if he were the devil himself. " That's what the recovery wing is for!" she yelled frantically. In one swift motion, she grabbed Ling Tong's wrist with her free hand and twisted it until it popped. He dropped her hand and let out a quick yelp of pain. "I suggest you give it a visit!" she finished, pleased to find that her voice could, in fact, be louder than a cannon blast.

She turned once again and stomped away from her miserable "sparring" partner, disgust written all over her face. She was halfway across the span of the sparring yard, muttering curses on Ling Tong's life, when Lu Xun jumped in front of her. Shang Xiangs paused in her march for a brief second to acknowledge his presence, trying to give him a questioning look with her rage contorted face. "Yes?" she hissed, hoping to scare him away so that she could return to her room and have a proper tantrum.

" Will you spar with me now?" Xun asked innocently, beaming away like an oblivious fool.

Unable to believe what she was hearing, Shang Xiang let out a wordless cry of torment and pushed Xun out of her way. 'What in the hell is wrong with these people?!' she asked herself. 'Have they all lost their minds?!'

A voice in the back of hr head kindly pointed out that they were men, so therefore, didn't have much to lose, but it didn't help. 'Thanks a lot, mind. I'll take a note of your sarcasm and remember to laugh later after I sort all of this out...'

Suddenly very worn out, Shang Xiang collapsed to the ground. She laid back and stared at the clouds, sighing. "Maybe a better question is 'What's wrong with me'..." she whispered to herself. She looked over at the now distant sparring ring, feeling her mind start to crumble. 'I can't believe he didn't even try to fight me... Cowardly little punk...'. Then realization of what she had done to him hit her, and she quickly sat up. ' Aw, damn, I broke his wrist! That poor guy, he may have angered me, but he didn't deserve _that_...'.

"Still giving your nickname a bad wrap, I see," someone said from behind her. Shang Xiang startled a little and turned to glare at the man who kept pointing out this particular piece of irony. Gan Ning just grinned and sat down next to her, clearly unafraid of her wrath. "I gotta say though, " he continued on, "you look almost mopey now instead of your usual...anger."

Apparently, Ning had not registered the evil look on her face. Shang Xiang rolled her eyes, thinking about how hard Ning's life must be with how blind he seemed to be. In that moment, without warning, all of her current madness seemed to melt away. 'Odd...' she thought to herself, not liking the implications of the situation one bit. "Stop that!" she demanded of the ex-pirate sitting next to her.

He shot her a genuinely confused look. "Stop what?" he asked, raising one eyebrow and tilting his head.

"Stop that whole, making me feel better...thing..."

" I made you feel better? About what?"

"You're joking."

"If I was, would I look this confused?"

Shang Xiang stared at him blankly. " Ning, I just broke a guy's wrist... For no reason... Kinda puts me in a bad mood, ya know?"

Gan Ning's confusion did not disappear as she had hoped. "You feel bad about _that_?" Shang Xiang felt her eyes widen a little, and her mouth drop open. " Listen up, my favorite hot-headed princess, you had every reason to break Tong's wrist... Why did you feel down about it?"

It was now Shang Xiang's turn to wear the mask of bewilderment. " Because I- What reason did I have to break it?"

" He pissed you off!" Gan Ning exclaimed, as if this was a totally normal reason to fracture someone else's bones. " I mean, let's face it, Shang Xiang, you wouldn't live up to your title if you didn't do something about it."

" You mean Sunny?" she asked sarcastically.

" No, hot-headed princess. It'll take years of therapy and being forced to let the Qiao's choose your clothing and do your make-up before you live up to that one..."

Shang Xiang smiled and pushed him square in the chest. " Get out of here, before I break your entire arm."

Gan Ning feigned fright. " Wh-why would you do that?"

" You're pissing me off, " she explained coolly.

" Glad to see that I've made you see what you truly are," Ning said, sounding like a fortune cookie and trying not to laugh at the lameness of it all. He stood, gave Shang Xiang a thumbs up, and began walking back to the sparring ring. The princess stared after him, smiling in spite of her self, when h turned and shouted, " And you said I can't solve problems!"

That was enough to make them both crack up.

* * *

Sun Ce wasn't sure when it had happened, but apparently, it had. The unimaginable had occurred. With each person that confirmed his fear, he felt the situation was more unreal. Yet, somehow, it appeared to be true. 

His sister was hot.

At first, he had overheard Lu Xun babbling on about it to Zhou Yu, and asking his advice on how to get her attention. Yu laughed at first, but it seemed that Xun wasn't joking. 'Of course not, that kid has no sense of humor...' Ce thought. It also seemed that he had no taste in women...

Ling Tong had nearly been in tears when the servants arrived to take him to the recovery wing. Ce had approached him to try and make amends with the situation.

"Hey, Tong, sorry that my sister is a total nutcase..."

Ling Tong's disheartened reply was, "I can't believe she did this to me... Did I upset her that badly?"

Ce simply chuckled and said, " Well, you know Shang Xiang, she isn't too hard to offend!"

He was shocked out of his wits when Ling Tong replied by saying " Maybe I should apologize..."

" For what?!?"

" For upsetting her," Tong explained. " I mean, it's not likely she'll agree to a date if she's mad at me...and I don't think I can take rejection from someone so beautiful..."

Sun Ce was totally flabbergasted. " Um...Tong? Did you hit your head, too?"

" No. My head's fine." Sun Ce stared at Ling Tong as if he were mad. 'Clealy he's mad...' Weird, though, Ce had never seen a mad man keep such a straight face...

" You guys should take him away now..." Ce said to the guards, feeling more lost than a blindfolded man who rarely thought and had walked right into one of Zhuge Liang's traps. He barely even registered the "yes sirs" that he received from the serving men as they carried Ling Tong away.

The absolutely dumbfounded look on the lord's face brought Lu Meng into his company. "Lord Sun Ce, are you all right?" he asked.

Sun Ce just shook his head. " No, man... Not at all..."

" What happened?"

" Ling Tong wants to go out with my sister..."

" He what?" Lu Meng asked, also confused.

" He thinks she's hot..." Sun Ce drolled on, sure that this was the worst dream he had ever had.

" He said that?" Lu Meng asked, curiously.

"In so many words."

" Well, she does somehow seem more lovely recently..." Meng mused. His voice sounded as if he were pondering something very important.

Sun Ce gawked at Lu Meng for quite some time. The only thing that pulled him away was the sound of his brother calling him.

" Ce! Get over here!" Sun Quan shouted in an uncharacteristically paniced way.

" Um...I'll talk to you later Meng, " Ce said, more than happy to get out of that particular situation. ' Has everyone gone mad? Honestly, even the not-so-young generals are suddenly entertaining the idea of my sister being attractive. That's gross! Everything about this is wrong!' These were his thoughts as he ran to his brother. " What's the big deal, Quan?"

" Father just received a letter from the Emperor of Shu..." Quan began, his voice shaking and his gaze twisted in denial.

" I'm not interested in hearing about declaring war right now," Ce interrupted. " I need to tell you something, about all of the men, and Shang Xiang-"

"That's just it," Quan cut in. " This _is_ about Shang Xiang. Liu Bei wants to visit Wu. While he's hear, he wants to make arrangements to marry our sister."

A nervous giggle escaped from Ce's lips ad a look of horror crossed his handsome face.

What the hell was happening to the world?

* * *

**_phew One more done! To try to make it up to you guys, I think I'll draw a cover for this, and put the link in the next chapter!_**

**_Votes:_**

**_Gan Ning: 18_**

**_Ling Tong: 17_**

**_Lu Xun: 10_**

**_Liu Bei: 6_**

**_Taishi Ci: 1_**

**_Lu Meng: 1_**

**_Cao Cao: 1_**

**_Crap... this voting is getting intense!_**

**_hurleysuki: I would try to throw something more dangerous, as well. but, if all I had were plates, they'd be gone in a heartbeat! if you're still out there, I'm glad you interested in how it ends._**

**_Justinian 14: Not a very speedy update (at all) but it's finally here!_**

**_Errol(hahahahahahahahaha): yes, you spelled that right_**

**_chi 19: he is cute... thanks for the vote!_**

**_Rach: you can vote for more than one person, yes. I don't like the pair too much myself, but it works well to complicate things and a lot of people seem to like it._**

**_poop: ok!_**

**_Gaming Monkey: it's a very late update, but I didn't give up on you! thanks for the vote!_**

**_Brownyedalbino: Hiya, French Girl! it is rather hard to pick,huh? Sorry this took so long..._**

**_Repeated Love Song: I am a-o-k with your babbling! I would go for that dresser thing, but, you're right, they would probably steal all of the clothes... thanks for the vote!_**

**_E.L.Ash: I'm glad that you always like it!_**

**_Idril Arcenel: thank you so much!_**

**_reader: not so soon... sorry! thanks for voting... and nice name..._**

**_Jinx: hi...twice. I rad you loud and clear, my mind twin!_**

**_Runs With Scissors 007: yeah, I know, not soon... thanks for the review, though!_**

**_Varying Pencilz: you can always still vote!_**

**_Starlit Romancer: I'm glad that you loved (or maybe still love?) my stories and art! thanks for the vote!_**

**_Feather Berry: you got it!_**

**_chitana: thanks for the imput!_**

**_Smile for Me: I am so sorry! I know, I've been gone forever! I'm not dying, so hopefully I'll get to post more! I didn't mean to torture you soul... _**

**_Hitsuguya7: I'll add one more to his tally!_**

**_Deidara's Masterpiece: sorry for causing you dizziness... thank you for the review!_**

****

**_And, after all of that babbling, I'm out!_**

**_Rayne Shadow Goddess_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Okay, so the cover isn't up, but it is done. I'll post a link next time..._**

**_Warning: This is a long chapter!_**

**The Wish**

**Chapter 5: Distractions**

Da Qiao was frantically applying blush to her face, feling for the first time in years that she was undesirable.

"I can't believe that not one dribble of drool escaped those men's usually gaping mouths!" she complained as she brutalized her make-up brush with her cheek. All of the other cosmetics seemed to cower in fear of her agression. Of course, inatimate objects don't cower, but if they could...

"Sis, I'm pretty sure that Ce drooled over you... " Xiao interjected from her sister's bed. She was getting sick of this self-pity kick her older sibling was on.

"That doesn't count! He's my husband! It's his duty to drool over me!" Da gave up on her makeover and spun to glare at her sister. " And just what do you mean 'drooled' ?"

" Uh, I mean exactly what I said... sheesh, and they say I'm the dumb one..."

" 'Drooled' as in, past tense? Are you trying to tell me that he doesn't still drool over me? Do you think that I'm undesirable too, Xiao? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!? "

Da was ranting. Da knew this was unsensible, unlady-like, and childish, but she couldn't help it. She was about to explode due to the implications that she wasn't the most beautiful woman in the kingdom anymore.

"Get over yourself, would you?" Xiao said in a superior tone. " Do you have any idea how tiring your whining is? Of course Ce still loves you. I was reffering to one instance. It's not the end of the world..."

"That sounds like something I'd tell you during one of your fits..."

Xiao smiled. "For the most part, that _is _what you say during my fits. Except for the Ce part... trust me, he's all yours..."

Da Qiao scowled. " So, what, is my husband undesirable, too?"

" To me. Besides, now the two of you can be all ugly and unwanted together! Doesn't that cheer you up?"

At that instant, Da slammed down her make-up and grabbed the nearest object on her vanity. Next thing her little sister knew, a hand mirror slammed into the arm she propped her head up with. Xiao yelped and pulled herself into a sitting position. The mirror fell to the floor and shattered. Da "humphed" at her sister and turned her back on her sibling again.

"Whatever. You're the one that's really going to hurt. You broke the mirror! Now your hideous self will have years of bad luck!"

"Oh Xiao, don't be silly! You know that superstition is just nonsense."

"If you say so... but when you fall down one day in the middle of a dance and break your ankle and have to go to th recovery wing for weeks all because you can't take some harmless criticism from your little sister, I want you to remember those words, becasue I will come visit you eveyday just to mock you, well, and to wish you well, but mostly to-"

"Xiao Qiao, breathe!" Da interrupted. " For heaven's sake, would it kill you to actually use punctuation when you speak?!"

Xiao pouted and murmured something about Da being jealous of her ability to make one paragraph only one sentence, but let it go, then lounged back on her sister's bed. " So, I guess that Shang Xiang broke Tong's wrist earlier..." she said aloud, hoping to change the subject.

"Yes, it would seem that she did..." Da replied, once again wrapped up in her makeover.

"Wow, that's pretty crazy. What do you think is up with her anyways?"

"Who knows..."

"I mean, first there's the whole thing with her and Xun, which I still think is totally cute, then she goes and breaks Tong's wrist... there's gotta be something..."

"Uh-huh..."

"Hey! Wasn't she arguing with someone earlier before breakfast? ...Yeah! She was rippin' into Ning this morning too!"

"You bet..."

"I wonder what it could be... Da, are you even listening?"

"Of course, Xiao..."

Now, in this case, the phrase "of course" means "not at all, sis, because I am so absorbed in my eyeshadow that your words sound like gnats buzzing around my ears".

"Liar!" Xiao said scoffing. " Still though, it's definately worth thinking about."

Da was about to give another inattentive response when th door burst open and Ce literally threw himself through the doorway. Xiao screamed and jumped off of the bed, staring at Ce with wide eyes. Da dropped her brush (which she had luckily just finished with) and put her hands to her chest in an effort to regain her breath.

"Sorry... sorry about that... really, I just..." Ce blurted out panting.

"Ce! What is wrong with you! You can't just burst into a girl's room like that!" Xiao was shouting.

At the same time, Da began fretting. "Is something wrong? What happened? Gods above, Ce, don't scare me like that!"

"I... said I was... sorry... yes, something is wrong but... it's not wrong with...me... and Xiao, Da and I share this room..." Ce explained, managing to catch his breath near the end.

" Oh, yeah..." Xiao said with a giggle.

"Well, what's wrong?" Da asked, sparing just enough time away from her worry to give her sister an annoyed look. "Why are you panting?"

Ce grinned broadly. "I ran all the way here," he said, sounding very proud of his accomplishment.

"Why'd you do that?" Da asked.

"For the exercise..." Xiao whispered sarcastically to herself.

"I need you guys to distract my sister for me. It's kind of a long story, but she needs to be occupied for a few hours starting in... twenty minutes," Ce answered.

"Can we hear this long story?" Xiao half begged, managing to give Ce puppy-dog eyes and raise an eyebrow curiously at the same time. It was an... interesting look...

"I don't think that's neccessary..." Da started, but Ce was already half way through the first sentence of his story.

" Ok, so I was going to apologize for Shang Xiang's complete and utter insanity to Ling Tong, and he starts babbling on about how he wants to get a date with her. Tong wants to date my sister! Not only is Tong way too big of a pansy to even think about my sister that way, but he also pulled that prank on me that one time, so why in the hell would he think it would even be ok with me that he's totally into her? Anyways, apparently that total dumbass of a ruler Liu Bei feels that way about Shang Xiang, too. He's like twice her age, lives in a kingdom that is small and weak, has an unhealthy obsession with virtue, and wants to arrange her to be his bride..."

"What?!" Xiao exclaimed, staring in horror at Sun Ce.

" He'll be here in about twenty minutes, so I'll need you two to find a way to keep her busy, ok?"

"But how will we-" Xiao paused mid-sentence, an evil smile curling the corners of her mouth. "Leave it to me!" Xiao said gleefully. She clapped her hands, did a quick twirl, then ran absurdly out of the room.

" You going with?" Ce asked.

Da sighed. "I'd better. But before that, I've got to tell you something..." She leaned against her husband and smiled at him.

" Oh yeah?" Ce questioned, wrapping his arms around her. "And what's that?"

Da's smile grew. "You sound an awful lot like Xiao when you tell storis like that, " she said as she pulled away from him. "Not very manly at all."

Ce stared at her in shock. Da chuckled a little and gave hima quick wink, then turned and walked out the door.

* * *

Shang Xiang was pacing outside of the recovery wing, frustrated with her own inability to walk inside. It was a simple task, to walk through that archway, but her feet only moved her back and forth in front of it. 

'C'mon, Shang Xiang,' she thought to herself. 'How hard is it to walk in there and apologize? I mean, you _broke his wrist_... The poor guy. He may be an idiot, but he's also your loyal subject and, more importantly, your _friend_. It's the right thing to do...'

She approached the door.

'Wait!' her inner voice demanded in a clear tone. ' He underestimated you. He really did this to himself! Sure, he's in a lot of pain, but it will keep him from making _that _mistake again! If you apologize, you're giving in to his needs. You've nevr bent to anyone's will before, never backed down from a fight, or its consquences, so why start now? Just move on with you life and forget that you even considered this!'

With that, she turned away from the door again.

'Go in there!'

'Stay away from the recovery wing! It's giving you mushy thoughts!'

'Do the right thing, Shang Xiang!

'Screw that! Get out of here!'

'Apologized to him! Do you really want to be thought of as the hot-headed princess forever?'

Shang Xiang stopped pacing and stared at the recovery wing, unsure of what to do. However, it seemed that her argumentative inner voice, the one that usaully ruled her, had given up entirely. She sighed outwardly as her voice of reason did a little cheer in her mind. She crept over to the doorway, feeling vry apprehnsive. She leaned over far enough to peek inside. Tong was lying on a cot, staring into space.

'Judging from the look on his face, he wouldn't even notice if I _did _go in there...'

The princess rolled her eyes and scoffed. Her mind was made up. She was out of here.

Little did she know that even the tiny sound of her annoyance had snapped Tong out of his trance. His eyes snapped to hr location just in time to see her turn to walk away. He had to do something. He couldn't just let his angel walk away from him like that! It was easier to stare at her in wondr if she was really there, after all. Tong gathered up all his courage. He opend his mouth and uttrd a single word:

"Princess?"

Shang Xiang stopped dead in her tracks. 'Aw, crap...' she thought as she turned to face him. She offered a shaky excuse for a smile.

"Um, you can come in if you want to..." Tong said, mentally slapping himself on the head for how un-suave he sounded. However, he didn't really care about that anymore when he saw that she was actually entering the room.

Shang Xiang eyed Tong's abnormally large smile suspiciously, wondering if someone had drugged him or if he was just feeling highly nerdy today. She sat at the foot of his bed, a little scared of how his smile widened (somehow) when she did so. She suddenly wishd very sincerely that there could be a chair in the room somewhere.

"I just came to see how you are, and from th way you were staring at the ceiling, I thought maybe latr would be better..." Shang Xiang explained. His stare was seriously creeping her out, so she stared at her shoes. They were very intriguing, actually. If she had a choice, she would never look up from them again. She was terrified that if she did, she'd see Tong looking at her with that ridiculous big grin.

"I'm fine, really. Never better!"

Shang Xiang looked away from her shoes. "Tong, I'm pretty sure that you've been better... You got your wrist broken by a girl..." she said, one eyebrow raised in confusion. His face twitched, flashing to a look of dismay for half of a second, then switched back to the World's Largest Smile. Shang Xiangs tried to look away, but she couldn't. The look in Tong's eyes was genuine, which was a deep contrast to the rest of his face. She was so weirded out that she couldn't help staring. 'Why is he looking at me like that?' she thought desperately.

"It would make sense to say that this is pretty bad, " he said. His voice sounded sweet and thoughtful; two words that were never described Ling Tong. "But, I'm happy because you came to see me. I could nevr be in a bad mood if you were around..."

Shang Xiang felt her face heat up. She was blushing, and the knowledge of that embarrassed her. Her face grew even redder. She tried to form a sentence, to tell him to stop, but it just came out gibberish.

"I-- what? Tong... that's... I mean, you're... and... I cause pain...not... um. Tong? Why--?"

Ling Tong felt a rush of accomplishment. He'd gotten th princess to blush! Not to mention that her babbling was precious. He chuckled, thrilled with every part of this moment... well, aside from his throbbing wrist.

"Shut up, Tong!" Shang Xiang scolded, jumping off of the cot.

"I'm sorry," he said, his laughs dying out. "That was just too funny."

"Well, I think you're crazy..." The princess crossed her arms and truned her back to him.

"Well, I think that I made you blush!"

" And I think tht you're infuriating!" she yelled. She turned and glared at him, a glare that would put anyone with two braincells into their grave. "And to think I actually considered apologizing to you..."

Tong locked eyes with the woman in front of him, a woman that looked like she was out for his blood, and couldn't think of a single comeback. He only had one thought in his whole mind. He wanted to be sarcastic, he wanted to win this battle of words, but his usual thoughts had vanished. One thing remained.

"I think you're beautiful," he said. His goofy smile was gone. He stared at her with so much longing. He watched as Shang Xiang's face fell, became an utter blank. Her eyes widened slowly, her mouth parted just so, her gaze flickered back and forth from the floor to him. Tong turned his head to look at the wall. He waited for her reaction, waited for her words, but was too afraid to look toward her. He was sure that he'd said the wrong thing. He was sure that she was going to pummel him until he was no more. He was sure of these things for five whole minutes of silence.

Then Tong began to hope. Was this lack of a response good? Was she flattered? Was it possible that those words had been just what she wantd to here? Was it possible that in saying that, it had made her realize that she loved him like he loved her? Tong risked a look over his shoulder. All of his hopes were swept away.

Sun Shang Xiang was gone.

* * *

Da Qiao was getting severly ticked off. She had all of seven minutes to find her sister-in-law, and her actual sister was running around only God knows where with some hare-brained scheme running through her head. Not only did she not understand the plan, but she didn' know why she had agreed to a plan that she hadn't even really heard. All that she knew was that she was supposed to find Shang Xiang while Xiao prepared the "distraction". 

Da was about to give up when she saw Shang Xiang at the end of the hallway, staring out th window.

"Don't jump, all right, princess?" Da shoutd down the hall. Shang Xiang leapt about three feet in the air. She gave Da an emotionless glance, then stared back out the window. Da jogged down the hall and stood next to her.

"Did I scare you?" she asked, a sly smile on her lips. Shang Xiang and her husband were the only two people in the world that she didn't feel obligated to act properly around. They accepted her when she acted silly or independent, and she didn't feel like she had to be a role model for either of them like she did with Xiao. She'd never admit it out loud, but she was always very thankful for Shang Xiang's tomboyish behavior. Being around her let her actually get angry, pick on people, and have some real fun. She shook her head, wondering why she thought of al that. Those were thoughts for when she wasn't on a schedule.

Shang Xiang didn't answer, she just stared out the window. Da frowned. "Uh, Shang Xiang, you ok?" She waved her hand in front of the younger woman's face.

"Huh?" Shang Xiang asked, blinking repeatedly. Da gave her a concerned look. "Oh, I'm sorry... I guess I'm kinda out of it..." The usually exuberant princess gave a weak smile. "What were you sying before?"

"I was telling you not to jump out of the window," Da stated. "You weren't going to jump out of the window, were you?" she asked sarcastically.

Shang Xiang giggled. "That's one thing you don't need to worry about, Da."

"Well, good. Listen, I seem to have lost Xiao, do you want to help me find her?"

For the first time since Da saw her Shang Xiang seemed like herself. She raised one eyebrow and smirked. "Did you lose her, or did she lose herself?"

"The second is probably closer..." Da said, grinning.

Shang Xiang pretended to be disappointed and let out an exasperated sigh. "Whatever are we going to do with that sister of yours..."

Da laughed out loud. "Well, c'mon then. I think she said something about the library a while ago."

"Why? She certainly didn't go to read?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"She's stalking Yu, then. I swear, if they weren't married, her obsession with him would be creepy."

The two women walked down the hall together, smiling and laughing at the expense of the Little Qiao.

"You're telling me..." Da mock whispered.

Shang Xiang looked at Da and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped abruptly.

"Is something wrong, princess?" Da questioned.

Shang Xiang examined Da's face closely. "Why are you wearing so much of that disgusting make-up crap?"

Da rolled her eyes. "It's a very long and ridiculous explanation, and one that I won't be sharing with you..."

"Oh? And why not?"

Da smiled. "Trust me, you wouldn't understand..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Xiao Qiao was having a tremendous amount of difficulty getting the most important part of her plan up the stairs to find her sister. 

"You're sure that she likes me?"

Xiao rolled her eyes. "Xun, I am totally positive!"

Xun frowned. "I don't know... she doesn't really act like she likes me..."

"Aahhh, geez, Xun, she's Shang Xiang. She doesn't act like she likes anyone! Especially men!"

"But-"

"Xun, just stop! You're a smart guy, right?"

Xun grinned bashfully. "That's what they say..."

"Well, then don't prove them wrong! It's always wise to accpt the help of a friend!" Xiao said with an overgrown smile. "Now, c'mon!" Xiao grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him up the stairs. "I promise you, Xun, Shamg Xiang told me she wants to spend today with you! She's too tomboyish to tell you to your face, though, y'know, that she totally likes you, so you have to get over your shyness and make a move on her!"

Lu Xun blushed slighlty, looking at the floor.

'Ooooo, he's sooo cute! I'm sure that Shnag Xiang will thank me for hooking them up later!' Xiao thought excitedly.

Operation: Distract Wu Princess was officially underway!

**_Tada! One more down!_**

**_Just for the sake of time, I'm only going to put the new votes. To all those that reviewed, though, I just want to say thanks for the support and kind words! Mostly, though, thatnk you for the votes, because that let's me know you're actually into it!_**

**_Gan Ning: 24_**

**_Ling Tong: 20_**

**_Lu Xun: 14_**

**_Liu Bei: 8_**

**_Taishi Ci: 1_**

**_Lu Meng: I_**

**_Cao Cao: 1_**


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